Easy to say, but this was show of the year. The show was so packed, that people didn't stop coming in until 8:50 which resulted the show to start almost at 9pm. There were about 30 fans who had to watch the show standing up... It was crazy. From beginning to end, all the matches were amazing. The way the matches were stacked up, it was perfect. The energy in crowd was a huge success to this show.

The Young Bucks vs Roddy Strong & Eddie Edwards (Strong & Hard) - An amazing opener. The crowd chanted for both teams throughout the match. A lot of great tag team maneuvers. Eddie & Strong won after a double team stomp/dominator combo. One of the best openers I've have seen in Reseda. This worried me a little because I was thinking, "who the fuck is going to follow up this match?"

Drake Younger vs Sami Callihan - What a fucken great match to follow up that Tag Team opener. This guys took it to each in the outside. Both were using chairs against each other. Drake took a chair and dove from the ring apron to an unconscious Sami. They both started head butting each other, which caused Drake to start bleeding from the top of his head. At one point, Drake give Sami a piledriver on the ring apron... It was sick. Sami was so over with the crowd (Side Note: it was great to see when Sami was making his entrance to the ring, he pushed Jay because he was on his way... Jay was so excited). Sami won via submission using a modified stretch muffler.

Super Smash Bros vs RockNES Monsters - RockNES have made a complete 180 degrees transformation in the last few months. A Heel Goodtime is a funny Goodtime. And as far as Yuma... Well he is just damn plain annoying. This was a good match for what it was. What really made this match exciting was the fact that the RockNES might steal the championship. Moment of the Match was when a bushy Goodtime decided to yank some of his goatee hair (and it was a lot). He grabbed a huge bush and blew it in Stupefied's face almost causing a roll up victory by Yuma. SSB retain the titles via fatality on Yuma (I believe). Excalibur came down to the ring after the match and informed SSB that they will pulling double duty tonight since PWG wants to get their money's since their flights cost so much.

Joey Ryan vs Scorpio Sky - A standing ovation for Joey when he came out. As much as this match had so much emotions in it, this was worst match of the night. I'm not saying it wasn't great, but it just shows you how amazing the other matches were throughout the night. The match started by both men giving each other hug which caused a Hot Reseda crowd to chant "Friendship". This was a usual Scorpio type of match, nothing really special. Scorpio beat Joey Ryan via TKO surprising the Reseda crowd. Joey got on the mic and at first he told us to go "fuck ourselves" which he immediately said he was just joking around. However the crowd was so hot, we started chanted "fuck ourselves". Joey than said "you guys will just chant about anything" which caused us to chant "Anything". He explained to us why he couldn't wrestle in Reseda anymore, but he did say that if he does a Saturday off, he will pass by to say hello to his "family and friends".

Four way match: TJ Perkins vs B-Boy vs Brian Cage vs Willie Mack - This was the opening match to the 2nd half, and what q match it was. Willie wasted no time and immediately attacked Cage. There were so many spots in this match by all four men, it was too much too follow. My personal opinion, B-Boy and Perkins stood out more in this match than Willie & Cage. In the end of the match, Perkins got Cage in the STF. Just as Cage was about to submit, Willie hit the Chocolate Thunder Driver on B-Boy and got the pin.

El Generico vs Rich Swann - Great back and forward match. Lots of flips and reversals by Swann. Just when you think Generico will have the lead, Swann will reverse one of Genericos moves. Generico won after hitting a suplex into a pinning powerbomb. Generico put Swann over after the match.

Super Smash Bros vs Hard and Strong (Non-Title Match) - Just like the 2 earlier matches earlier that night, this tag team match was amazing. Hard and Strong immediately attacked SSB once the match started. Hard and Strong were out there to make a point to everybody in Reseda. They wanted to prove that they are the best Tag Team in the World... And my God they did. Their tag team maneuvers, hitting and submissions, they proved their superiority that night. Hard and Strong defeated SSB via Suplex/Backbreaker and Double Stomp. The next show is in January 12th, you better believe their will be a rematch between these 2 teams, but for the Tag Titles.

Kevin Steen vs Adam Cole in a Guerilla Warfare Match for PWG Title - A great way to finish a perfect night. Steen started by ramming Cole into all 4 posts in the outside. Steen looked at the crowd, pondering what to do next, and Powerbombed Cole to the side of each 4 ring aprons. Steen finally threw Cole inside the ring, but also got about 5 chairs, thrash can & lid. Steen dominated most of the match until Cole hit Steen with the trash can lid. 2 ladders were also brought into the ring. OMG Moment of the Match was were 6 chairs were set up in the ring and Steen Death Valley Drived Cole from the top rope on to the Chairs... Somehow Cole kicked out. Because of this move, Cole had a nasty cut on his back and started bleeding badly. Steen was surprised by the kick out so he went to the announcers table and brough a pitcher of thumb tacks into the ring (which back fired). Cole defeated Steen by doing a Straight Jacket German Suplex into the thumb tacks. A very sick ending to an extremely amazing sick night.

sounds like it really was an amazing show, pw pondering said the joey ryan match was very good where it didnt seem you enjoyed it as much? where will this show rank against shows like fear and steen wolf? i cant imagine it was as good as steen wolf was

wrestlemania wrote:sounds like it really was an amazing show, pw pondering said the joey ryan match was very good where it didnt seem you enjoyed it as much? where will this show rank against shows like fear and steen wolf? i cant imagine it was as good as steen wolf was

Don't get me wrong... It was good. However, the rest of the matches on the card were way better. If Joey wasn't leaving, this match would be subpar. It was the emotion and the respect for Joey Ryan that made this match good.

This was an awesome show but Steen Wolf was still better. Its gonna be very tough to top Steen Wolf. What I liked about Mystery Vortex is that it had variety of different matches, a diversity of styles is what makes a perfect show. This show had technical, high flying, strong style and hardcore and this is why it was a total success. This is what ECW did back in its day, giving fans a variety of different matches, it is a formula that always works the best.

One helluva show on Saturday night! I'd easily slot "Mystery Vortex" as one of the top 2 or 3 PWG cards this year (POSSIBLY numero uno…but I think a few others have the inside track). There really wasn't one below average match to be found (although I also don't think there was a blow-away MOTY contender either). Still, that being said, the opener (Strong/Edwards vs The Young Bucks) and the closer (Steen vs Cole) were tremendous bookends that both rated ****1/4 to me (for those of you wanting the snowflakes)

Of course my match ratings were influenced by a few pitchers of beer served up by those two hot bartender chicks....not to mention the crazy group of fuckers I have sitting front row with me. All of it factors in to the big picture. Here's some quick thoughts

1) Roddy Strong/Eddie Edwards -vs- The Young Bucks(Quite possibly the best PWG opener I've ever seen live. These four had the crowd pumped up and loud from bell to bell. The Bucks are obviously taking a step back from being the center of the PWG tag team universe, but they are still working at an elite level. And you can't find many better inside the ropes than Strong and Edwards. So yeah, this had every ingredient of a top notch DDT4 style epic. I won't go too much in to listing different spots. But I'm sure you all can guess that there were stiff chops and Super Kicks all over this sumbitch. The only bad thing about this was the pathetic Irish Whip that a ringside fan gave Eddie to help him deliver his running corner kick. Yeah, that was very below average. The rest however, KICKASS!!! ****1/4)

2) Sami Callihan -vs- Drake Younger(My buddy, John said after this match that he thought it was a 5 Star Japanese style brawl. I thought it was a shade under 4* myself. It had to be a bit rough following that opener, and the crowd was overall more subdued for this one. But it did build up well towards the finish. Now I dig Drake Younger quite a bit and he seems like a helluva nice guy. But it appears to me that it takes him awhile to get into the flow of a match. The first few minutes are always a bit clunky and awkward until things kick in to second gear. That said, despite a few dead spots from the crowd and a more deliberate pace, there were some true "Holy Shit" moments to this match that had me jumping out of my chair. And was it stiff?? DO I even need to answer that? If cringe worthy head drops and juice-making headbutts aren't enough to satisfy your lust for violence, howz about a friggin' PIledriver on the edge of the ring apron. I was just happy to see these two walking around healthy by the end of the show. Callihan is quickly becoming one of my favorite wrestlers in the world. The guy is a definite keeper! ***3/4)

3) SSB vs RockNES Monsters(Within the realm of video game themed Tag teams, it's the new hotness against yesterdays news. I think I'm one of about 3 fans in the building who still got RockNES's backs. And I believe I was the only guy that Johnny Yuma didn't scowl at during their Bruiser Brody-esque ring entrances with the caveman fur coats on. Unfortunately for Yuma and Goodtime though, The Smash Brothers are like that hot mistress that you can't help but find yourself in bed with at the expense of ruining a seemingly happy marriage. This was wacky and fun and a good change of pace from the carnage of Drake/Callihan. The RockNES Monsters playing this Heel comedy bit is pretty hit or miss with me. I dunno, I'm still entertained by them. But I really thought they were on the verge of something big before the Smash Brothers swooped in and hijacked their thunder. Highlights (lowlights?) would include Johnny Goodtimes scraggly beard being self cut and blown in the eyes of the Smash Brothers (while a few creative geniuses in the crowd chanted "Pubes"...yes "Pubes). There were some big dives and fun wrestling here as well. So even though this was one of the less impressive matches to me, it still had enough goodness throughout to put it a notch over the 3 star mark. ***1/4)

4) Joey Ryan -vs- Scorpio Sky(Scorp seems to be the “pinch hitter” anytime a Dynasty member is about to be sent packing (maybe Karl Anderson will come back just to get his proper send off). That being said, this is definitely the most “impactful” (sorry) loss of a PWG guy in awhile. Say what you will about Joey Ryan, but the guy was the sleazy heart and soul of this promotion from day one. Sure, he’s probably only second to Peter Avalon in the “Most Attempted Simulated Rapes In Company History” category, but the guy has accomplished a TON out here on the West Coast. And this was his best singles match in quite awhile. No, it wasn’t Scorpio Sky vs Scott Lost, but both guys worked hard and I think it was a fitting finale for the Technical Wizard in PWG. And who knows, maybe in a month or two he’ll come back and bring Matt Morgan with him! On second thought, GOOD LUCK IN TNA!!! ***1/4)

5) Wille Mack –vs- B-Boy –vs- TJ Perkins –vs- Brian Cage(TJ Perkins to me has easily been the most underrated PWG wrestler of 2012. If you want to criticize his lack of charisma or whatever, fair enough. But the dude is SO good inside the ring that I don’t give a crap if he does promos based after Silent Movies. Cage and Mack had one of the more underwhelming “Grudge Matches” of the year recently, so you figured it was time to make up for that. And B-Boy hits hard. Despite being the comeback match after intermission (where a lot of fans take time away to get even more drunk or high than they already are), this delivered exactly what it needed to in the context of getting everybody back in the flow of an awesome wrestling show! Mack and Cage went after each other right off the bat to remind us that they are still looking to fuck each other up to get in that spot as the number one contender. Perkins played the stinking city of Reseda, like a harp from Hell with his brilliant wrestling! And B-Boy hit people hard. GREAT match to get the show moving forward into the 2nd act! ***1/2)

6) El Generico –vs- Rich Swann(Yeah, like THIS was gonna suck! Nope, not gonna happen. Still, there were a few minor miscommunications here, which kept things off the level of the Generico v Ricochet series. A few people gave me the impression that Mr. Generico was a bit peeved over something in the match. I myself didn’t catch any dissention between the two…Just a fun high-flying match-up that was placed perfectly on the show. Rich Swann is a major talent who is extremely close to having that break-out match in PWG! This wasn’t quite it….but still some awesome stuff! ***3/4)

7) Super Smash Bros. –vs- Strong/Edwards(Excalibur kinda played random douche earlier in the evening, making both teams do double duty (including the tag champs). It was non-title, kinda giving away the result. But FUCK IT, this was a top notch exhibition to set up Strong and Edwards as a force to be reckoned with at the upcoming DDT4 tourney show (presumably) as well as the next major contenders for the PWG Tag Team Championships. This is really high end stuff for a couple of teams who had tough matchups already on the evening. I like Strong and Edwards going forward as the veterans trying to upset the Smash Brothers and their newly found position as the dominant Tag Team on the West Coast. Bring it on! ***3/4)

Kevin Steen –vs- Adam Cole (Guerrilla Warfare Match)(The stip was declared earlier in the show by Steen, which got the crowd pretty much going apeshit (GuerrillaShit?). But yeah, judging from the opinions by other PWG fans who I talked to beforehand, there were quite a few people that thought it was Cole’s night. I was in Steen’s corner, thinking he would pull off a big win, building to a rematch. And for awhile I felt pretty good with that call as Steen came out of the gate Powerbombing poor Cole on the ring apron OVER and OVER again for our sick pleasure! Adam Cole however is a tough muthafucka and weathered the early storms to deliver his own Hardcore style beatdown. I don’t think this quite lived up to the ridiculous standards of the Steen/Generico battles or the SSB vs Young Bucks vs Future Shock ladder war. But it was a GREAT brawl and a well deserved victory for Young Mr. Cole (who did happen to plant Mr. Steen in a big bed of thumbtacks here). The Future of PWG is looking pretty bright! ****1/4)